Julie Chébaux

Since females invest more than males during reproduction, they are often the ones that choose their mate. It is not a random choice. In fact, some studies show that kinship degree and reproductive success influence mate choice. These studies also tend to illustrate that, by some means or other, individuals are able to evaluate their degree of kinship with other individuals. In canaries, Serinus canaria, it has been demonstrated that females are able to recognize their partner. In addition, these females tend to re-mate with their previous partner if they obtain "good" reproductive success (2 to 3 young) but tend to avoid this latter if they had "poor" reproductive success (only 1 young). So, the aim of the PhD is to determine if kinship degree influences sexual partner choice of female canaries and if recognition mechanisms exist which would permit to avoid endogamy. For this, we will observe if all females show similar preferences for males having the same kinship degree. We will examine if this choice confers "good" reproductive success on females. Then, we will try to determine what morphological and/or behavioural criteria are used to assess the kinship degree. Finally, we will observe, in the case of social competition, if females choose different social and extra-pair partners according to their degree of kinship.